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Coverage of the coronation in Australia has seen some presenters slam the event, with one prominent journalist saying the crown ‘represented invasion, the theft of land, and the extermination of Indigenous people’.

During national broadcaster ABC’s reporting of the event, guests included Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri man who has worked in the media for over 30 years.

When asked about the ceremony and what it represented for Indigenous people, he made his thoughts on the matter clear.

‘The crown is not above politics to us, because the symbol of that crown represented invasion, the theft of land, and in our case, the exterminating war,’ he said.

He also said: ‘In the name of that crown martial law was declared on my people.’

Speaking about how Australia was the ‘only’ Commonwealth nation in the world who did not sign a treaty, Grant questioned where the ‘recognition’ of what happened ‘under the name of the crown was’.

‘It holds weight for First Nations people because that crown was put on us and it still holds a weight,’ he said.

‘We must come to terms with these truths.’

He said that during a time where the country is in deep discussions about recognising First Nations people in the constitution and the possibility of being a republic, these discussions about the crown and its legacy ‘needed to be had’.

His sentiments were echoed by former professional soccer player Craig Foster, who is also the chair of the Australian Republican Movement.

During the coverage Foster said that it the crown and royal family ‘were always immune to criticism and questioning’ in the past.

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‘Some people here say this is benign pageantry and we should just enjoy the show but the reality of it is that as Indigenous and anti-slavery groups across the country are telling us as well is that this [crown] has a malignant past and an element that is painful and about suffering for hundreds of millions of people,’ he said.

‘We’ve never been able to recognise that and it’s always been about denial.’

He said that after the ‘sad passing’ of the late Queen Elizabeth last year, conversations were being had about ‘accountability’.

‘At the heart of the wound in this nation is the crown and yet it has been above reproach and question,’ he added.

‘People feel uncomfortable because we are trying to extend some respect to this institution that we recognise has made a significant contribution to the country at the same time are walking this journey and learning about what actually happened.

‘This day is historically significant because it may and I hope that this may well be the start of a different Australia and the end of the final element of the British Empire.’

Their comments generated plenty of attention online, with lots of people shocked at the conversations happening during coronation coverage.

‘Holy s*** this was not what I was expecting from the ABC coronation coverage – Stan Grant and Craig Foster absolutely going OFF on the monarchy and the Empire and its legacy of genocide and pain,’ one person posted on Twitter.

‘Holy s*** Stan Grant is ripping into the crown, and it is amazing,’ someone else said.

While some criticised the comments, others said the ABC had presented balanced views.

‘It provide an insight into the traditions of the coronation but also some views from Indigenous people and republicans. This is balance and not sycophancy,’ another person wrote on the social media site.

In the lead up to the event, there were many people who also made their thoughts on the coronation known, including model and contributing British Vogue editor Munroe Bergdorf who said it was ‘sickening’ timing amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Sharing a statement written by a director on Twitter named Stuart Warwick, she also criticised the use of taxpayer’s money to fund the event and urged the King to foot the bill himself out of inheritance following his mother’s death.

‘Over 14.4 million people in the UK can’t afford to eat every day. 25% of London is in poverty. 4 million children are experiencing food poverty,’ she wrote.

She added that whether people were pro or anti monarchy, she didn’t understand how ‘in the midst of a cost of living crisis, national worker strikes, soaring inflation, escalating poverty and food bank usage’ that ‘taxing the poor for an aristo party is anything but a gauche, out of touch and quite frankly obscene display of wealth and power, during an increasingly desperate time for so many’.

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